If you recall, we’re a part of the Crown Royal Open Court program, bringing you #ReignOn moments from the New Orleans Pelicans. As part of the deal, they sent your truly and the rest of the folks on the Open Court program to NBA All-Star Weekend. You’ve already seen some of the events I was able to get to, and more coming, but this is all about my experience with Crown Royal, because they rolled out the red carpet again.

Here are five quick thoughts on the occasion.

1. NBA Cares Is Pretty Awesome

Before weekend kicked off, NBA Cares went to my wife’s school to do some repairs. It was a great experience for the kids and teachers who work their a$$es off. I was there for a bit, helping out as well, painting with Arron Afflalo. LeBron, Chris Paul and certain Davidson alum also showed up. I’ve always seen those commercials but didn’t really think the players would be so engaged with the teachers and the project. Dee-1 was also there, chopping it up and helping out.

2. Canal And Bourbon AKA Where It Goes Down

Here’s the thing about New Orleans and All-Star Weekend: everything happens in a few-block radius. The corner of Canal Street and Bourbon stayed packed the entire weekend. Jordan Brand had one corner with their Footaction and High-End Iron Works store, while Nike had the House Of Hoops and the custom store on the other side. Some of the most fun came from just hanging on those corners talking to people.

3. Crown Royal XO, I Think I Love Thee

Friday night, we got to check out the Kenny Smith party thanks to Crown, but before all that went down, we had a special tasting of the new Crown Royal XO. I know this is a Crown Royal-sponsored event and all, but you have to trust me here: that XO is my favorite drink from Crown. Easily. If you haven’t tried it, give it a taste as it’s the smoothest of the Crown Royal drinks I’ve ever had.

4. Anthony Davis’ #ReignOn Moment

Anthony Davis played in his first All-Star Game so congratulations to him. He got the young player treatment and only played a few minutes but he had some highlight dunks while he was there. I’m gonna say it now: Anthony Davis probably won’t miss another ASG for the next eight to 10 years.

5. The Taylor Gang

We’ve been working with Crown Royal and the folks at Taylor for three years now and it’s just as exciting to see that crew and my peers in writing every few months. We all link up for NASCAR and now we’ve added the All-Star weekend to the mix. I’m glad to call these people my friends. We’ll see you all in New York for ASW 2015.